West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-07-15

There are no such charges. His real
offense, "that he denies the right OF
Rome to dictate his opinions upon a
question of political economy now
being discussed in this country OF
which he is native born citizen" I"
And for seeing this revelation OF
Gods justice and beneficence, as
Galileo saw the revelation of the So
lar system-for seeing this, and re-
fusing to deny it, man whose 20
years of priesthood have been un-
marked by stain or blemish; a man
who stands to-day the best known
and best, loved of all the Catholic
priests of America, is to be cut of
from the Catholic church, so far as
archbishop, propaganda and pope
can cut him of.
Consider the conditions of society
here in New York as there in Italy
and yonder in ireland, and wherever
in short our so,called Christian civ
ilizatlon is reaching anything ap-
preaching full development. Con-
slider the armies, the fleets, the po,
licemen, the prisons,the workhouses.
Consider the wanton luxury of the
rich, gorged to safety, and morally
rotting amid profusion; consider
the squalid want of the poor, and
the vices and the crimes bred Of it;
consider the tramps, the prostitutes,
the thieves,t the gamblers, the courts,
the swindlers; consider the long toll
and scant fare of those on whom the
hard work of all other classes is
thrown; consider the corruption Of
government, the morals of trade, the
ideals Of success that are set before
the young. Consider that in human
society such as this it is utterly i'm
possible for any one to follow the
bidding of Christ and to do to 9th
ers as he would have them do unto
him. Consider how the workman
must off-times snatch employment
and the poor bread it brings, from
another to support his own; how the
manufacturer must grind others
children lest his own come to want;
how the trader must drive a sharp
bargain or fail himself; how the
rich man must steel his heart or be-
come q pauper; how the trustful
m st learn to look on all men as
rogues; how the good Samaritan
must pass by on the other side if he
would ever reach his journeys end.
If this be the only possible human
society. was not Christ fool when
he told men to love one another, and
to trust one another, and to treat one
another as they would have others
treat them-when he told them that
they need no more worry and fret
about what they should eat, and
what they should drink, and where
withal they should be clothed than
do the lilies of the field?
Consider who is to be eXcommu
nicated, and what he is to be excom
municated for, and who is to do the
communicating?
The man who is to be excommuni-
Gated is man who all his life has
been known as Il friend of the poor;
who is followed by the oppressed and
loved by the heavy burdened. He is
to be excommunicated for saying
and insisting that human society as
it exists to-day is not the human So
ciety that God intended; for declar
ing that the poverty, the vice. the
greed and the crime that exist to-day
are not due to the Creators bungling
but to the fact that we have founded
our social structure on fundamen-
tai injustice, and make the bounties
and opportunities that the All-Fa-
ther has provided for all His chill
dren the absolute property of a few.
And the man who is to do the excOm.
municating-he is called by name
of honor; he lives in a marble palace,
and is clothed in purple and fine
linen, and people kneel down to kiss
his hand. He holds that society as
it is to-day is the divinely appointed
and only proper society; he holds
that the want and greed and vice
and crime that spring from poverty
are divinely ordained that the scrip
ture may be fulfilled, "The poor We
have always with you"
Consider these things. Read the
gospel that tells of a certain pro-
ceeding had before another high
priest eighteen centuries ago, and
say, as between what is represented
by archbishop, propaganda and pope
one the side andwhatis represented
by the simple priest whom they pro-
pose to excOmmunicate on the other
side, which stands for the Christian
ity Of Christ?
JACOB SHARP.